Natural Disaster Preparedness for Travellers: How to Stay Safe When the Unexpected Happens Abroad

The Gap Between Knowing and Preparing

Most travellers know, in an abstract sense, that natural disasters happen. Earthquakes in Japan and Turkey, hurricanes in the Caribbean, tsunamis in South-East Asia, wildfires in Southern Europe and Australia. These events appear in news headlines, and travellers accept them as risks in the same way they accept the risk of delayed flights: real, but unlikely to affect them personally.

The problem with this approach is that natural disasters affect travellers in significant numbers every year. Being abroad during a natural disaster is qualitatively different from being at home. You are unfamiliar with local evacuation routes and procedures. Your social network of people who can help you is absent. You may face language barriers at exactly the moment when clear communication could save your life.

Good preparation does not prevent natural disasters, but it dramatically changes the outcomes for people caught in them.

Research Your Destination Before You Go

The first step in natural disaster preparedness is knowing what risks exist at your destination and when. Every region of the world has its own hazard profile, and understanding it takes less than thirty minutes of research before a trip.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) publishes travel advice for every country in the world at GOV.UK. These pages include specific natural hazard information: earthquake zones, hurricane seasons, monsoon periods, wildfire risks, and volcanic activity. Hurricane seasons in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico run from June through November, with peak risk in August and September. Monsoon season brings flooding across parts of South and South-East Asia, typically between June and September. Earthquake risk is highest along tectonic plate boundaries including the Pacific Ring of Fire and the Alpine-Himalayan belt.

Register with the FCDO's travel registration service (LOCATE) before visiting higher-risk destinations. This allows the British government to contact you and provide assistance in a crisis. It takes five minutes and it is free.

What to Prepare Before You Travel

Prepare a small set of emergency documents and information that you keep on your person or accessible even without your phone or luggage. This includes a physical copy of your travel insurance policy and the emergency contact number, a copy of your passport photo page, the address and phone number of the British Embassy or Consulate at your destination, and the local emergency number.

Download offline maps for your destination. Google Maps and similar apps allow you to download regions for offline access, which means you can navigate without mobile data or signal. In a disaster where mobile networks are overwhelmed, offline maps can be essential. Know where your accommodation is relative to potential hazards. On your first evening in any accommodation, locate the emergency exits and understand the shortest route to higher ground or safety.

Earthquakes

If you are inside when an earthquake strikes, get under a sturdy table or desk and hold on. Stay away from windows, exterior walls, and anything that could fall on you. Do not run outside during the shaking; the greatest risk of injury is from falling objects. Stay sheltered until the shaking stops, then evacuate calmly once it is safe to do so.

If you are outside when an earthquake strikes, move away from buildings, streetlights, and overhead power lines. Drop to the ground and protect your head and neck with your arms. After a major earthquake, expect aftershocks. Do not re-enter a building that has been damaged. If you are in a coastal area and feel a strong earthquake, do not wait for a warning: move inland and to higher ground immediately, as a major offshore earthquake can trigger a tsunami.

Tsunamis

The most important thing to understand about tsunamis is that the warning signs are natural rather than technological. An official warning system may not have enough time to reach you. Natural warning signs are your most reliable alert: a significant earthquake near a coastline, an unusual and rapid withdrawal of the sea exposing large areas of seabed, or a loud roaring sound from the ocean. If you observe any of these, do not wait for official instruction. Move inland and uphill immediately.

Tsunamis are not a single wave; they are a series of waves arriving over many minutes or hours. The first wave is not necessarily the largest. Do not return to a coastal area until official all-clear has been given. A common fatal mistake is returning too quickly because the first wave seemed manageable, only to be caught by a much larger second or third wave.

Hurricanes and Cyclones

Unlike earthquakes and tsunamis, hurricanes develop over days and their paths are tracked. If a hurricane watch or warning is issued for your area, take it seriously regardless of what the sky currently looks like. Follow the advice of local authorities. If evacuation is ordered, leave. Do not stay in a hotel on a coastline during a direct hit, regardless of how solid the building seems.

If you cannot evacuate, move to an interior room away from windows on the lowest floor that is not at flood risk. Do not go outside during what feels like a lull; it may be the eye of the storm passing over, and conditions will deteriorate rapidly again.

Wildfires

Wildfires move fast and are unpredictable. If local authorities issue an evacuation order for your area, leave immediately. Do not return to collect belongings. A wildfire can travel faster than a person can run, and smoke is often as dangerous as the fire itself. In a car during a wildfire, if you cannot evacuate and are surrounded by fire, park in a clear area, turn the engine off and headlights on, keep all vents closed, get below window level, and cover yourself with a blanket or clothing. Stay in the vehicle until the fire passes, then evacuate.

After Any Major Incident

Contact your travel insurer immediately after any major incident. Most travel insurance policies have an emergency assistance line operating 24 hours a day. This line can help coordinate medical care, evacuation, or accommodation if your original plans are disrupted.

Contact your family at home as soon as it is safe to do so. SMS messages use less network capacity than calls and are more likely to get through when networks are overloaded. Preparation does not make disasters impossible. What it does is ensure that when something unexpected happens, you have the information, the resources, and the presence of mind to respond effectively. That preparation genuinely saves lives.